Squash, Avocado & Noodle Salad with Almond Miso Dressing

This is such a great dish – it works brilliantly as a take-to-work salad, you can prepare it the night before and add the green leaves just before you eat it to keep them fresh. I used butternut squash but it would work well with any squash or even pumpkin.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 a small butternut squash, cut into 1/2 inch thick segments

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp sesame oil

Noodles (brown rice noodles / buckwheat / courgette) enough for 2

2 tbsp frozen organic peas

1 avocado, sliced into segments

Green salad leaves: rocket, spinach or lambs lettuce or whatever you have in the fridge

Large handful of coriander, chopped

½ tsp chillie flakes

1 small handful of seeds (such as pumpkin, sunflower, linseed, sesame seed)

6 almonds, crushed into small pieces

Miso almond dressing:

2 tsp almond butter

2 tsp miso paste

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp  raw honey or rice malt syrup

3 tsp tamari sauce

1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

1-2 garlic cloves finely grated/crushed

Method:

Spread the coconut oil on the bottom of a roasting tray and lay the cut squash on its side on top of it. sprinkle the sesame oil over the top of the squash. Roast in the oven for around 20 minutes until its cooked through. Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl or cup and mixing well.

Add the noodles to a pan of boiling water, and cook until ready (follow instructions on packet). When they are cooked plunge them into a bowl of cold water, submerging them completely. Drain the noodles and put them into a salad bowl. Or, if you are using courgette noodles, prepare them and add to the salad bowl. Boil the kettle and put the peas into a small bowl, adding enough hot water to cover them for 1 minute. Drain and add to the salad bowl along with the coriander and around 4-5 tsp of the dressing, or more – to your taste. Gently toss the noodles so they are coated in the dressing and divide into 2 serving bowls or plates. Add the avocado, cooked squash, green leaves, seeds, chillie flakes and almond pieces.

GLUTENFREE / DAIRYFREE